EU: Nutrition declaration on prepacked foods now mandatory | Progresiv
Starting December 13th, nutritional information must become mandatory on packaging, according to the EU Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation No 1169/2011. 
Manufacturers must now ensure packs provide details on energy value, amount of fat, saturares, carbohydrate, sugars, protein, sald and supplementary information, such as mono-unstaturates, polyunsaturates, polyols, starch, fiver, certain vitamins and minerals.
The Regulation EU No 1169/2011 began in December 2014 and applies from December 13th 2016, combining two directives into one legislation: 2000/13/EC – labeling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs – and 90/496/EEC – nutricion labeling for foodstuffs.
FIC sets out a specific presentation format for the nutrition declaration:
- improved legibility of information (minimum font size mandatory information)
- clearer and harmonized presentation of allergens (e.g. soy, nuts, gluten, lactose) for prepacked foods (emphasis by font, style of background color) in the list of ingredients
- mandatory allergen information for non-prepacked food, including in restaurants and cafes
- requirement of certain nutrition information for majority of prepacked processed foods
- mandatory origin information for fresh meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry
- same labeling requirements for online, distance-selling or buying in a shop
- list of engineered nanomaterials in the ingredients
- specific information on the vegetable origin of refined oils and fats
- strenghtened rules to prevent misleading practices
- indication of substitute ingredient for ‘imitation’ foods
- clear indication of ‘formed meat’ or ‘formed fish’
- clear indication of defrosted products
Some foods are exempt from the rule, including the manufacture of small quantities of food that are supplied directly by the manufacturer to consumers, or the local retailers for direct supply to the consumer.
The regulation applies to all food products sold in the EU, meaning every company selling on the EU market must comply, even if the company itself is based outside of the European Union. (www.bakeryandsnacks.com)
